PetroChina Co. Ltd. PTR will likely start operating a new oil sand plant at MacKay River, going by The Wall Street Journal. The leading integrated oil company is expected to start the project with 35,000-barrels-a-day production capacity later this year although oil has been under the development’s break-even levels for a length of time. With this, PetroChina is going to produce first oil from its two Alberta oil sands developments worth as high as $3.9 billion. While the MacKay River project is one of the projects, the other is the Dover plant with a capacity of 250,000 barrel per day. It is to be noted that PetroChina is yet to build the Dover plant. The breakeven range of oil price for both the MacKay River and Dover projects is $60 to $70 per barrel. This is higher than the current oil price of $41.50 per barrel as the technology of producing oil from the projects is expensive.PetroChina Company is the largest integrated oil company in China. Being one of the two integrated oil companies in China, PetroChina is well positioned to capitalize on favorable market trends. We are optimistic about the company’s robust portfolio of assets and strong balance sheet, which make it better suited to handle volatile market conditions than most of its peers. On top of that, the company’s natural gas business has growth prospects over the coming years as China moves from coal to natural gas.As a result, PetroChina currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), implying that it will significantly outperform the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.Other players in the energy sector that warrant a look include Suncor Energy Inc. SU, Antero Resources Corporation AR and Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC VNR. Each of these stocks also carry the same Zacks Rank. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SUNCOR ENERGY (SU): Free Stock Analysis Report PETROCHINA ADR (PTR): Free Stock Analysis Report VANGUARD NATURL (VNR): Free Stock Analysis Report ANTERO RESOURCE (AR): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research